Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

General Biology Lab I (Face-to-Face)

BIOL 1615-12

Course: BIOL 1615-12
Credits: 1
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: BIOL
CRN: 30973

Course Description

Lab to accompany BIOL 1610. One two-hour meeting per week. A minimum grade of "C" (2.0 or above) must be earned in this course before it can be counted in a biological science major or minor or as a prerequisite for any other biology course. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Co-requisite(s): BIOL 1610 Registration Restriction(s): Intensive English Program majors may not enroll General Education Category: Life Sciences

Required Texts


Required textbook: None. All materials are available on Canvas.
Canvas: We will be using Canvas (https://suu.instructure.com) as our course management system; this is where you will access all course materials and where your grades will be reported. Please make certain that you have access to this important tool.

Turn on your Canvas announcement notifications. I regularly make time-sensitive announcements through Canvas, and it is your responsibility to read and understand these announcements. You may contact me (within a reasonable time period) to clarify any announcement after it has been posted.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the General Education Life Science requirement, students will be able to:
1.      Apply Scientific Methods: Describe and apply approaches to scientific discovery and interpretation of experimental data;
2.      Understand: Demonstrate understanding of matter, energy, and their influence on biological systems;
3.      Apply Knowledge: Describe and apply evolutionary concepts in terms of inheritance, adaptation, and diversity of life;
4.      Explain: Explain the mechanisms of information storage, expression, and exchange in living organisms or eco-systems; and
5.      Reflect: Reflect on the relevance of life sciences in a broader context.

Course Requirements

  • Course Requirements
               Requirements and Points assigned                                              % grade
1.Syllabus and Attendance Quiz (Due Sep 02 @11 AM) - 5 pts                            0.8% 
2.Lab worksheets (10 @ 20 pts each)* (see breakdown below) - 200 pts             33.6%
3. Pre-lab quizzes 9 @ 10 pts each) (see breakdown below) - 90 pts                  15.1%
4. Individual Writing Project - 180 pts                                                                   30.3%
5. Group Presentation- 120 pts                                                                            20.2%
 
*These assignments can be submitted up to 72 hours late, after the due date but 10% will automatically be deducted for every 24 hours late, starting 1 minute after the due date.
Breakdown of Lab Worksheets:
1.     Experimental Design*
2.     Macromolecules*
3.     Microscopes & Cells*
4.     Osmosis & Diffusion*
5.     Enzymes*
6.     Cellular Respiration*
7.     Photosynthesis*
8.     The Cell Cycle*
9.     Inheritance *
10.   DNA Extraction & Gel Electrophoresis*
Breakdown of Pre-lab quizzes:
1.     Syllabus and Attendance Quiz
2.     Macromolecules Pre-Lab Quiz
3.     Microscopes & Cells Pre-Lab Quiz
4.     Osmosis & Diffusion Pre-Lab Quiz
5.     Enzymes Pre-Lab Quiz
6.     Cellular Respiration Pre-Lab Quiz
7.     Photosynthesis Pre-Lab Quiz
8.     The Cell Cycle Pre-Lab Quiz
9.     Inheritance Pre-Lab Quiz
10.   DNA Extraction & Gel Electrophoresis Pre-Lab Quiz

  • Description of the course requirements 
1.Syllabus and Attendance Quiz: To encourage each student to read the syllabus and help ensure that you understand the course requirements, a syllabus quiz will be administered. The attendance quiz is required for your continued attendance in the course. Both quizzes are due Sep 02 @11 AM. 
2. Lab Worksheets: You will be working on these worksheets mostly in lab and collect data while doing experiments. You would finish these worksheets later, if anything left and submit in Canvas within 48 hours of lab. 
3.Pre-lab Quizzes: To encourage you to engage and read the lab material before class, pre-lab quizzes will be administered on Canvas before every lab. Lab materials will be published before lab. 
4. Individual Writing Project:  The Individual Writing Project is to be done on the instructor’s assigned research topic. You will learn do the research on your own and write a small individual article.
5.Group Presentation:  After you finish the individual writing project, you will work on the Group Presentation along with your lab group. This will give you an opportunity to present your research along with your lab group members. The instructor will assign you in the lab group.
                            
  • Grading:
The following grade scale will be used to assign letter grades to your work:
A: >= 94%; A-: 90-93.9%
B+: 87-89.9%; B: 84-86.9%; B-: 80-83.9%
C+: 77-79.9%; C: 74-76.9%; C-: 70-73.9%
D+: 67-69.9%; D: 64-66.9%; D-: 60-63.9%
F: <60%
  • If you identify an error in your grade, please inform me within 7 days of the grade being posted. After 7 days from the initial posting of the grade, the grade becomes final.
  • It is your responsibility to upload viewable assignments. You will not be allowed to resubmit assignments for any reason after the due date has passed.
  • Pre-lab quizzes are open book/note but must be taken individually. You may use the lab worksheet and any other pre-lab materials posted on the week’s module on Canvas to complete the pre-lab quiz. You have 2 attempts, and your best score will be kept.
  • Lab worksheets are worth 20 points each. 10 of those points are earned through attendance and engagement in the lab; excessive use of your cell phone, excessive bathroom/other breaks, failure to help your group complete and clean up the lab, or any other behaviors indicating lack of engagement will result in point deductions. The other 10 points are earned through accurate completion of the lab worksheet; ask questions if you’re not sure of a correct answer, fill out lab worksheets entirely, and look at the preview of your submission on Canvas to ensure submission of the correct and complete assignment.

Course Outline

 Week of                                 Labs
Aug 27                                 No Labs
Sept 01                                Experimental Design
Sept 08                                Macromolecules
Sept 15                                Microscopes & Cells
Sept 22                                Osmosis & Diffusion
Sept 29                                Enzymes
Oct 6                                   Cellular Respiration
Oct 13                                 No Labs—Fall Break
Oct 20                                 Writing Workshop
Oct 27                                 Photosynthesis
Nov 3                                  The Cell Cycle
Nov 10                                Inheritance
Nov 17                                DNA Extraction & Gel Electrophoresis
Nov 24                                No labs—Thanksgiving Break
Dec 1                                  Group Presentation  

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Make-Ups (also known as “Section Swaps”), Emergencies and Excused Absences and Late work:
 
Emergencies and Excused Absences
  • It is your responsibility to contact me about an emergency as soon as possible. When you contact me, please provide documentation of your emergency. For example:
o   If you are physically or mentally ill, please provide a doctor’s note.
o   In the unfortunate event of a death in your family, please provide a death certificate, obituary, memorial service, or other form of documentation.
  • If you can’t be at lab for excused reasons, please contact me at least 1 week before.
   Excused absence policy link: 
  • In case of both excused absences and emergencies with provided documentation Make-ups can be available (see below), at the discretion of the instructor and if lab space available.
  • The following list includes, but is not limited to, examples of non-emergencies: family trips (whether planned or spontaneous), inclement weather where campus remains open, technical difficulties prior to a deadline, roommate disagreements, weddings, your job, etc.

Make-Ups (also known as “Section Swaps)
All section swaps must be arranged PRIOR to your absence and per the following instructions: (excessive use of section swaps is not allowed)
  • Check the schedule for all BIOL 1615 sections (posted in Canvas). If one of the other sections fits your schedule, you can potentially attend that section instead of your registered section, but you must request a section swap, described below.
  • To request a section swap:
o   compose an email to the instructor of the section you want to attend (email addresses are listed on the biology department faculty & staff website  – to find the website, google “SUU Biology Faculty & Staff”)
o   CC me on the email so I know what's going on - if you don't CC me, I will not accept your section swap
o   politely ask if they have any space in their section for you to attend and if they would be okay with you attending their section that day. Important NOTE: they are NOT obligated to allow you to attend their section.
  • If the section swap you attend occurs after the assignment's due date for your registered section:
o   If you swapped sections for an avoidable reason, then the late policy described in the syllabus will apply to your assignment.
o   If you swapped sections due to an emergency, then please communicate with me as soon as possible about your emergency. If you communicate with me promptly, then I will extend your due date without penalty

Late Work
  • Some assignments can be submitted up to 72 hours late with a 10% penalty for every 24 hours late. All other late work will NOT be accepted. See Course Requirements for a list of assignments that can be submitted according to this policy.
  • Technical difficulties are NOT a legitimate excuse for submitting late work. If you are having “Canvas issues”, please email your completed work to me prior to the deadline.

Attendance Policy

Attendance for the entire lab session and timely arrival is required in this class. To monitor attendance, you will be required to sign in for every lab session.
  • If you do not attend lab at all, then you will receive a zero for the day's assignment. Make-up options are described in the Make Up policy on this syllabus.
  • If you arrive late or depart early, the percentage of class you missed will be the percentage deducted from your assignment score. For example, if you arrive 30 minutes late to class, the percentage of class missed is 30 minutes out of 110 minutes (27%), so I will deduct 27% from your assignment score.
IMPORTANT: If you know that you will experience regular attendance conflicts due to work, trips, weddings, or any other currently planned activities, please register for a different section that suits your schedule better; I do not m

Contacting me

  • I respond to emails and Canvas messages within 1-2 business days.
  • Please do not send the same message to both my email and my Canvas inbox – choose one or the other.
  • Please include your full name, course number, and section number in your emails.
  • I cannot guarantee a response to your emails in less than 1 business day, so be proactive and begin assignments with plenty of time to ask me questions.
  • If you email me requesting information that is clearly specified on the syllabus, my response time will likely be delayed.

Mental Health

  • Resources for mental health can be found here:
  • If you are experiencing mental health challenges that are interfering with your ability to succeed in this class or in other areas of your life, please promptly seek help either through the SUU student mental health website listed above or by reaching out to me.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.